She interrupted me with a snort. “Not likely. Jemmy Bell is one of Knightstown royalty and I can’t imagine ever hanging out with that pampered princess.”
I grimaced. Rachel was a scholarship teen, and she had become somewhat bitter when she had lost her brothers in a house explosion after her father had disappeared. Honestly, I didn’t blame her bitterness. Knightstown wasn’t a place I would have thought I would have ever felt comfortable had I not come here with the Bells initially. From an outsider looking in, most of these kids acted privileged and had no clue how the real world worked. They never had to worry about whether they were going to eat that day or endure being mocked for the clothing they wore. They drove their expensive cars and were constantly tethered to their newest and greatest technology. Posting their every moment on social media, constantly searching for their next ‘like’ to validate their existence.
“If you focus, you’ll know I’m not lying. We used to be good friends, best friends even, the three of us. Someone decided to mess with me and my connections and turned back time,” I explained adamantly.
She snorted, crossing her arms across her breast. “Another pampered princess. Thinking the entire world revolves around her.” She patted Gavin condescendingly. “Hey buddy, you should get your girlfriend checked out.” She whistled and did the universal sign of crazy with her pointer finger circling her temple.
It was my turn to snort. “You assume I’m a pampered princess and I wasn’t, well not originally,” I cleared my throat. “You had a loving father and three doting older brothers. You lived in suburbia in a middle-class family. You never lived in a trailer park with a cracked-out stepmom that hated you and abused you, along with her boyfriends,” I hissed at her. At her look of shock, I continued, regretting my outburst. “I know you miss your family,” I said more gently. “I know you would trade this in for them, any day, just to have them back. I know your favorite color is black. I know you were saved from death when you snuck out to meet your boyfriend. I know Remington Murphy was the one to find you, and you’re harboring a little crush on him. I know you hate bacon,” I jokingly snorted. “Which I believe is still highly un-American, bordering on communistic.” Gavin stifled a laugh as Rachel continued to stare out the window. She was so stubborn! “Your favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip. You love storms, and if it’s nice enough, you open the windows in the room to hear the thunder.”
“So, you’re a stalker.” I could see her inner struggle. I knew she knew all my words were true. “What do you want from me?” she snapped at me.
“I need your help,” I stated simply. “Bridgette Mason just transferred to this school and should be in your Performance Arts class. I was wondering if you knew her gift.”
Something deep inside of me already knew, ever since Gavin informed me that Jemmy and Remy had no recollections of the night before. But my mind was in denial mode. I didn’t want to believe the evil girl that had tormented me for years could possibly be my sister.
Chapter 10
“She’s not,” Rachel stated.
I felt like all hope was lost, and I sunk into my seat with defeat. My body was struggling. I was hot, then cold, and my bones ached to the core.
“But she is in some of my classes.” Rachel said reluctantly. “Why do you want my help? What do I get out of it?”
“Your life,” I blurted. “You get your life back. We get our life back. We were happy. Every weekend we went home to the Bell estates and we had fun, we were loved. We could eat all day, play music, swim, and we laughed…a lot. I know you hate it here. I know you go back to your room every night with no cell phone and dream of going back to your old life. I need—we need—information on Bridgette. I think she’s a major player in this game that stuck us here.”
I saw a glimmer of longing in her. “I was friends with the Bells?” she asked hesitantly. “What kind of info do you need?”
I nodded emphatically. “We were all a family. A dysfunctional family, but it worked for us. I need to know what her gift is, although I already have a feeling.” I grimaced at Gavin. “I hope I’m wrong, though.”
Gavin looked at me, puzzled. I looked at him and then Rachel. “It was once believed in gifted families that they could only produce two off-spring, max” I explained even though I knew Rachel already knew this. “However, in families like Rachel’s and…mine, our parents were able to produce more than two.” Rachel softly gasped and I continued. “My mother has produced five of us…that I know of.”
It was time for Gavin to gasp, “That could explain why my parents wanted more children but couldn’t.” He had a shocked expression on his face before his eyebrows furrowed. “But my parents aren’t gifted,” he insisted.
“Okay, so apparently there are many low-level gifted, one’s and two’s, that never even suspected they were gifted. It could be that they run a little faster than a normal person, or they have the ability to remember details, like someone having an eidetic memory. Nothing remarkable. They’ve done some research, but nothing has been positively proven. It’s a possibility both of your parents were just carriers of the gifted gene. Who knows, maybe your great-great somebody or other was gifted. Some gifts can be hidden,” I explained with a shrug.
Gavin looked at me in wonder and fascination. Sometimes I forgot he was new to all this.
“Anyhow,” I continued, “Will heard that I may have a sister out there that is capable of messing with people’s memories. I have a dreadful feeling that Bridgette Mason is my half-sister and she’s been messing with the memories of the Bells.”
We all jumped as a hard knock came on our window. We all turned shocked eyes as we saw William Bell and a security guard standing poised outside of my window.
I feigned a smile as I looked at him and rolled down my window. “Mr. Bell, so nice to see you again,” I said brightly.
He gave me an exasperated sigh. “I see you haven’t changed much, Blake, or should I call you Amanda?”
We were all being led back into the high school, but I stopped short as I heard the bell ring for the next class.
“Mr. Bell,” I said insistently. “I know you have questions, and I have answers, but can I suggest that we do this elsewhere?” I looked over at the security guard that was still trailing us.
I never met the security guard and I didn’t know if he could be trusted with our secrets. Plus, I didn’t like the idea of Bridgette seeing us. I was supposed to be in class, and I didn’t want her to suspect that I was reaching out to Rachel. I already felt like I had to protect Gavin. I didn’t want to add one more.
He gave me a long-suffering sigh. “Ms. Thomas, I don’t think you are in any position to tell me what I should do. You were caught just weeks ago trespassing, and now you two,” he looked slightly disappointed at Gavin, “…have taken another student from her class. While one o
f you were impersonating me.” He looked at us suspiciously. First at Rachel, then Gavin, then me. “Is Jaxson in on this. Is he around?” He gave a pointed looked around before narrowing his eyes on Gavin. “Did you imitate him?”
I knew he wasn’t in the mood to hear any excuses. I focused hard, which was difficult since I was sick, and my body was failing me. I had used what little energy I had helping Gavin with his illusions. “Please,” I pleaded silently. “I know you suspect nefarious individuals working for you. Your suspicions are correct, and I don’t want anyone especially, Bridgette Mason, Zach Young, Tamara Young, and Collin Scott seeing us together. Not like this.”
His eyes widened, and I realized that he had heard me. I sagged in relief, before I felt myself falling into the darkness, my body finally giving out on me. I had ignored it for too long.